Hawaii attorney scoffs at animal cruelty charge for client who beat peacock with baseball bat

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HONOLULU — The attorney for a Hawaii woman who bludgeoned a peacock to death says his client shouldn’t be on trial on animal cruelty charges because peafowl are pests and the state doesn’t require a permit to kill them.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports Earle Partington told jurors in opening statements Wednesday that the case against Susan Maloney is ‘ridiculous.’

Maloney has said she killed the bird on May 17, 2009, because she was tired of its constant squawking outside her condominium complex.

Maloney is charged with second-degree cruelty to animals. The crime is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine.

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-- Associated Press